The General Hospital Corporation

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

University of Illinois

Daktari Diagnostics, Inc.

Purdue Research Foundation

William Rodriguez

Mehmet Toner

Xuanhong Cheng

Rashid Bashir

Utkan Demirci

Daniel Irimia

Aaron Oppenheimer

Grace Chen

Nicholas Watkins

Yi-Shao Liu

Lee Zamir

Liju Yang

This disclosure relates to methods and devices to count particles of interest, such as cells. The methods include obtaining a fluid sample that may contain particles of interest; counting all types of particles in a portion of the sample using a first electrical differential counter to generate a first total; removing any particles of interest from the portion of the fluid sample; counting any particles remaining in the portion of the fluid sample using a second electrical differential counter after the particles of interest are removed to generate a second total; and calculating a number of particles of interest originally in the fluid sample by subtracting the second total from the first total, wherein the difference is the number of particles of interest in the sample. These methods and related devices can be used, for example, to produce a robust, inexpensive diagnostic kit for CD4+ T cell counting in whole blood samples.

Counting particles using an electrical differential counter

The invention features methods, devices, and kits for the isolation of analytes (e.g., a cell). A sample containing a desired analyte is introduced into a microfluidic device containing moieties that bind the desired analyte. A shear stress is applied that is great enough to prevent binding of undesired analytes and low enough to allow binding of the analyte of interest. Once bound, the desired analytes can be analyzed (e.g., counted). The invention also features methods for determining a shear stress for isolating a desired analyte.

Devices and methods for detecting cells and other analytes

The invention features methods of quantifying cells in a sample by lysing the cells followed by the measurement of at least one intracellular component. Methods of the invention are especially useful for quantifying small numbers of cells, e.g., over a large surface area or volume compared to the cell size. In a preferred embodiment, methods of the invention are performed using a microfluidic device.

Methods for counting cells

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Cambridge, MA, United States of America

William Rodriguez